When death metal was first kicking its tires in America in the mid- to late '80s, it tended to be a gore-obsessed collection of brutal riffs, exemplified by the likes of Death (the early stuff), Obituary, and Cannibal Corpse. Over in Sweden, a more melodic version of the subgenre gained traction, with bands like At the Gates and In Flames weaving more New Wave of British Heavy Metal elements into extreme metal. One of the earliest pioneers of that Swedish sound was Dark Tranquillity, who've spent the past two and a half decades churning out the most consistently good catalog of all the early Swedish death metalers. MATTHEW W. SULLIVAN